Law Offices of Edward J. Singer APLC

A news account reported that Amazon’s Prime Day event is a major case of injuries for United States’ Warehouse Workers. This revelation comes from findings made from a year-long Senate committee investigation.

Two things within the report were interesting. The first was: : “During peak seasons, the company skirts and sometimes even
outright ignores critical safety protocols. One worker’s Prime Day experience shows how dangerous the company’s disturbing culture of “constantly bypass[ing] safety in favor of productivity” Senate Interim Report

Also, it report noted: “Critically, although Amazon’s total injury rate includes minor injuries, such as bruises and superficial cuts, it also includes serious injuries, such as torn rotator cuffs and concussions, which the company should have treated as recordable injuries. This is due both to Amazon’s practice of failing to refer workers for outside medical care and the company’s troubling history of under-recording injuries as required by federal and state regulations.” Senate Interim Report

Is By-passing safety in favor of productivity a Workers’ Compensation Concern?

Yes. In California Workers’ Compensation, there is an additional allegation that can be made against an employer. It is called Serious and Willful Misconduct. Labor Code Section 4553, provides that “the amount of compensation otherwise recoverable shall be increased one-half, together with costs and expenses not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250), where the employee is injured by reason of the serious and willful misconduct of any of the following: (a) The employer, or his managing representative, (b) If the employer is a partnership, on the part of one of the partners or a managing representative or general superintendent thereof, (c) If the employer is a corporation, on the part of an executive, managing officer, or general superintendent thereof..

Whether the cause of an injury is at the level to be found as a serious & willful misconduct is something addressed by the trier of fact. Further, a factual analysis must be done to establish it.

Why Is Injury Reporting Important For Injured Workers?

For Workers’ Compensation purposes, injury reporting is important. Injury reporting is done through a claim form called a DWC-1. The injury reporting entitles the injured worker to received medical treatment paid for by the employer per Labor Code 5402. Likewise, the claim form triggers the investigation period to accept or deny the claim.

Within the facts presented, it is not indicated whether the injuries were documented as work-related claims. Assuming that the injuries that were unreported to Federal Agencies were provided medical treatment by Amazon, it is likely that Amazon employees were provided a claim form to report the injury.

What If I Need Advice?

If you would like a free consultation regarding workers’ compensation, please contact the Law Offices of Edward J. Singer, a Professional Law Corporation. We have been helping people in Central and Southern California deal with their workers’ compensation cases for 27 years. Contact us today for more information.

Technological improvement and cost-saving demands have now placed robotic employees in the workforce. Amazon, and other companies, are employing robots that are essentially co-workers with humans. Human employees have suffered work injuries as a result of these robot/human interactions. These work injuries fall within workers’ compensation coverage and entitle the human workers to receive both medical treatment and compensation.

This article will discuss robots in the workplace, an article entitled “Primed For Pain,” and what an Injured Worker should do if they sustain an injury as a result of working with robotic co-workers.

What Types of Activities Do Robots Perform?

Robots in the Amazon Warehouses perform “the laborious task of stowing new merchandise on shelves and picking merchandise for assembling customer orders.” “Primed for Pain.”

Was There Injury Problems with Amazon Warehouses?

Yes. “Amazon’s sortable facilities with robotic technology had a serious injury rate of 7.9 per 100 workers, more than 54 percent higher than the serious injury rate at non-robotic sortable facilities in the same year.” “Primed for Pain.”

In other words, the addition of the robots created hirer rates of injury.

What Types of Activities Do Robots Perform?

It is reported that the robots in the Amazon Warehouses perform “the laborious task of stowing new merchandise on shelves and picking merchandise for assembling customer orders.” “Primed For Pain.”

How Do Robot/Human Injuries Occur?

it was noted that a theory of injury involves the work pace. The issue is that robots and humans work at different paces. For example, humans, at the beginning of a shift may be physically stronger than at the end of a shift. Robots, on the other hand, are able to work at the same pace during the work-shift. Thus, the slowing down may be a source of injury. “Primed for Pain.”

Further, as robots perform repetitive motions, human workers may be required to match the moves. This may include performing repetitive activities that may be performed in a non-ergonomic fashion. Supra.

Are There Other Sources of Compensation For Robot-Related Injuries?

There is a possibility of pursuing a product’s liability case. This would depend upon who manufactured the robots. Additionally, if the robots are serviced by an outside provider, a possible negligence action may be a possibility.

What If I Need Advice?

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A “PRIME” DAY TO GET HURT AT WORK? INJURED WORKERS IN THE NEWS #125

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AMAZON, ROBOTS, AND WORK INJURIES: WHAT YOU NEED TO NOW